Time to transplant spinach . . .

The Tyee spinach seeds were planted in Jan and have their second set of leaves. Time to move out of the starting bed.

and the spinach sprouts . . .

These are inside on a heating pad and under lights.

The heat of the sun . . .

As soon as the sun melts the snow we sit on the bench in the warm sun looking at the garden - planning this year's layout.

The seeds started in the house are beginning to sprout - some spinach and onions have emerged. In the greenhouse the chard and spinach from last fall are producing again, the broccoli have small heads forming and a few herbs are showing new growth - enough to add flavor to our meals. There are a few short rows of beets, carrots, mesclun greens, spinach and cabbage.

Now the fruit trees are in my sight today - time to spray when it warms up a bit!

Crop rotation . . .

Crop rotation wil help keep your garden in good condition for years. If you are interested here is a link to Yankee Gardener's, Crop Rotation Chart, a place to start.

We have a lot of rhubarb chard in the greenhouse now and have adapted the recipe for Warm Herbed Garden Spinach from Yankee Gardner's recipe.

• 1/2 cup red onion or yellow onion, chopped
• 2 slices well cooked bacon, crumbled
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced
• 2 Tablespoons margarine (we use butter*)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (sea salt*)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 lb fresh garden picked spinach (can use chard or other greens*)
• 3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon (Optional use lime juice if available)
• Top with crumbled feta or blue cheese*
• Garnish with chopped fresh oregano to taste*

Cook onion, bacon and garlic with margarine (butter*), over medium heat until bacon is crisp and crumbled.
Stir frequently.
Reduce heat and add seasonings.
Add spinach (and or other greens*)
Toss just until spinach (and/or other greens) is/are just wilted.
Drizzle with the fresh lemon juice.
Garnish with parsley & fresh oregano*.
Serve immediately.

* As in most kitchen we have added our own touches as noted by the * in this recipe.

The web site has lots of useful information for gardeners and cooks.

Spring!

The greenhouse will be on a garden tour this year so work began last fall to prepare. A number of plants did well over-wintering. We have been able to harvest mesclun greens, herbs, spinach, dandelion leaves and chard. The broccoli is coming along with heads of an inch showing and a cauliflower at 3/4". Peas will be planted today as well as more spinach

The most exciting find was not the plants -

it was a yellow spotted salamander, Ambystoma maculatu! Shiny dark blue with bright yellow spots, the salamander was hibernating under the straw mulch. Even tho' I replaced the straw the salamander moved on to a safer place - hopefully in the greenhouse since it will help keep the insect population down including slugs. I wonder will the salamander enjoy the sow bugs (mealy bugs)? Anyone know?

Photo from Wikipedia